Family is Important to God

Hello everyone!

(This picture was sent the following week.)

Well, I’m feeling much better now and my companion and I were able to work super hard this week and talk to a lot of new people. I am learning to love the area and the people here more every day. There are so many good people here in the ward! 

We’ve been talking a lot with a recently returned missionary who is awesome and has been introducing us to all of her friends. I love missionaries. And we even have some baptisms marked in the coming weeks! One that will happen this weekend is the wife of an ex missionary who left the church but is coming back! Their marriage is on Saturday and her baptism is on Sunday! It’s going to be great. She is fantastic and really wants to change her life and learn more about the gospel. The Lord is preparing the people in this area, and it is amazing to see it.

We are also teaching 9 year old Pedro whose family has been away from the church for a couple years, but is also coming back, with a little bit of a struggle. His mom, Nayra, was in the church as a youth, but got pregnant really young and then never came back. She keeps asking us, "Are you sure that this will go right? Can my son really get baptized? Maybe we should wait until the end of the year..."   and we just keep telling her that everything will be alright and that this is the right thing for her to do.

The church is true! Family is so important to God, and He wants us to be happy. We are trying to visit the family a little more to strengthen their faith- making sure that they are reading the scriptures every day and saying their prayers. It is ALL about the little things! We need to strengthen our testimonies every day, step by step, drop by drop.

This ward is really great and I am loving getting to know all the members here. The area is FULL of hills and stray dogs. Oh, our little house is great too :) We live on the bottom floor of a 3 story house and members live above us. They are SUPER nice to us and help us out a lot.

 Oh…help the missionaries. Look for ways to serve them, especially when lunch/dinner falls through. We feel so much love. I love being a missionary!

Thank you so much for your prayers! I feel them!

Love ya, Sister Berry

Transfers

Tudo Bem?

Well, I got transferred and now I'm in São Paulo, in the neighborhood Itaim Paulista. Everything is super different from where I was before. There are a lot more big avenues full of cars and stores, and a lot less green. Plus we live in the middle of a giant hill, so we are always going uphill or downhill. My legs have really been suffering. And this week I’ve been sick, which is horrible on the mission. 

At church yesterday I was half dead, and I just wanted to sleep. But I’m feeling a little better so don’t worry about me. Oh, I also got a new companion! Her name is Sister C. Lima, she's from a city only about 2 hours from here, which is interesting, and has 7 months on the mission. She's been in the area for just one transfer but loves it here. I feel super lost here but I’m learning.

Sorry I’m not really sure what else to say. Even though it’s hard, I love being a missionary. I want to learn so much more! I learn something new each day. Thank you for all your support and all the prayers. I need them. :)

Awesome quote from Brigham young: "Truly happy is that man or woman, who enjoys the privileges of the gospel of the Son of God and who knows how to appreciate his blessings."

Remember to be happy. 

Me and my new companion

Don't Eat Pete Success!

love you!

Sister Berry

Pencils and Pancakes

Well this week was FANTASTIC. Sister Freitas and I worked so hard and we were really able to see even more miracles. It is absolutely amazing! Remember I told you about Tamires last week? Well, she is absolutely amazing and was so prepared to hear the gospel. We were able to talk to her 'husband´' (not married legally-- whyyyyyyyy??), and it went really well. We weren't able to teach him again because his only day off is Monday, but Tamires told us that he got an answer too! They did exactly what we ask every person to do. They read a part of the Book of Mormon, prayed with faith, asking God if the Book of Mormon was true or not, and they received an answer to their prayers! That is all we are asking. Read it and ask God. They are so amazing. They are so willing to change and follow the example of Jesus Christ.

They all went to Church on Sunday: Marcos, Tamires, and their 5 children. Yep 5 kids under the age of 11. Church was great! I had the sense to bring some colored pencils and markers and some paper that kept them all occupied. Sister Freitas and I took care of the kids while the parents listened to the talks. I think they really liked it. The kids too. I got some great drawings out of it as well. I love them so much already!! We are having a Family Home Evening with them tonight and I plan on showing Brazil how to play Don’t Eat Pete, or  "Não come o Pedro,” it’s gonna be awesome :)

The sad thing though is that tomorrow is transfers...and I’m leaving the area. It is super sad because we finally found amazing people to teach after so much difficulty and I just love the members here. I love this place so much. But at the same time I know it’s time for me to leave. I know that the Sister that takes my place will be perfect and will be able to help Tamires and Marcos marry and help all the members here. I really feel like that I have done all that I could have to help this area. So I am excited to go someplace new and find new people that need me.

Something super exciting happened this morning :) I made a German pancake! Yup, just one, but it was ginormous! And super delicious. I think the next ones I make will be even better :) I’m excited. I even had a lime and powdered sugar. Heaven!

We were also able to visit a lot of recent converts and less actives this week, which is good but sad at the same time. Things will never be perfect! Some people think that after they have stepped onto the straight and narrow path that all is finished. But it doesn’t end there. God gives us challenges to make us stronger! We can overcome any difficulty with the help of our Savior. It is all about Jesus Christ. So visiting recent converts is great. It’s great to see them grow in the gospel. But some recent converts need help, and less actives have sometimes abandoned the church altogether. All the answers are right here in front of them! All we have to do is endure to the end and we will be happy. We will receive blessings from heaven and rest for our souls. We just have to have an eternal perspective. Remember what really matters. I love the people here in the ward so much and I will miss them a lot.

Alright, so remember to be happy, no matter what. You can do hard things. I can too :)

Eu amo vocês!

Sister Berry

Wait, is that a steer? A guy riding a steer in the middle of the street?
Yeah, I’m gonna take a picture of that.

"Sem luta não há vitória."

Família e Amigos,

 E aí? :) I hope everything is going great with all of you!

Well, this week was a lot better! People were actually a little happy to see us and we were able to teach a lot more lessons. What was sad though is that Sister Freitas has been sick so we've had to take it a little slow. It was just a bad cold, and she's all better now. So now I’m ready to work!

 A little info about my comp: She's picking up little English phrases that I say sometimes. Like "Oh my goodness,"  "dang it", and "What?!" It’s pretty awesome. We've also been saying a phrase that one of our investigators  (a little crazy and random lady) said last week: "Sem luta não há vitória." Which translates to-  “Without a struggle there is no victory.” It sums of the story of our lives right now, and is so true. We need trials and difficulties so we can grow stronger! Sem luta não há vitória! It is so hard to get rejected time and time again, but I know that if I do my best I cannot fail. Heavenly Father has given me the strength I need and will continue to do so. Thank you for your prayers! I have needed every one.

 It is soooo humid here! I can’t even believe it. There is mold everywhere! My bible got wet in the rain last week and it is still damp. The struggle is real. The good news is that I love the food here. I am still loving rice and beans day after day after day after day. I’m pretty sure I’m gonna miss it. More good news, I’m learning some Brazilian recipes! We will have a Brazilian party when I get back! Speaking of going back, I hit the halfway mark this week! I can’t even believe it. Nine months in Brazil went by so fast! But I’m excited for the rest of my time here. I am so happy here and grateful for all that I am learning.

Até mais, Sister Berry

Trial of Faith and Climbing Mountains

What’s happening with you all? Well, I hope things are going great and I would love to hear from you guys! Just remember that I am always here waiting :) I am soooo grateful for my amazing family! I love them so much! Alright let’s get down to business and explain what happened this week.

(I hope Sister Berry doesn't get mad—but I included the following paragraph from an email she sent me so that her letter to everyone else makes a bit more sense.)

First let me tell you that this week was rough. No one wanted to listen to us. We talked to literally everyone on the streets but no one wanted to talk to us or learn more. EVERY person we talked to was from some other church and most of them didn’t even accept a little passalong card. AND all our investigators dropped us. One girl didn’t even let us in her house she just told us that it was too hard to wake up early for church and she didn’t want us to visit anymore. One day was super hard and it was raining and no one wanted to talk to us and I just cried after every rejection. Oh it was so hard. It’s still hard. A day or two after that we visited a recent convert who told us that she was losing her faith and she didn’t want to go to church anymore. I lost it. I just cried and cried about her and about the whole week. How am I supposed to help people gain their faith when mine is being beaten down? Really these past weeks have tested my faith. Almost more than I think I can bear. I am learning so much, and I know I will be stronger because of it. Things will get better. But if not, I will continue to work hard and build my faith. 

This week was not the most fun, but I definitely learned a lot. I learned a lot about faith. I read a talk this week (that I can’t remember the name of right now, I think it was Holland’s “Bitter Cup and the Bloody Baptism” but I’m not sure) that talked about faith. It said that you really don’t know how strong your faith really is until it’s tested, until you have to hang on to it to stay alive. Well, my test was this week. I really REALLY had to think about what I believe and why I am here. I had to think about what I had been called here to

do. I know that faith is things HOPED for, and that we can’t always see the end result. We can’t always see God’s plan for us. But the thing is, I know that God DOES has a plan for each one of us. He can and will help us to become the best that we can be. I’m excited to change for the better and to use this next week to continue working hard. I love my Savior!! I know that He loves us! I am so grateful to be here and to be learning so much, even though it’s hard.

On the brighter side of things, we had an exchange with another set of missionaries, where you switch companions for a day. I was with Sister Sautter who has been in Brazil for only 3 months but is super happy and awesome. She's from AZ too! From Flagstaff and Buckeye. It was so great to be with her and to learn new things from her. I just love missionaries :)

And Pday today was awesome :) We climbed the mountain again but with the whole zone. I also slid down the mountain side on a bike trail. I didn’t do it last time so that was fun, but I got mud everywhere. I am so grateful for the beautiful earth that God made for us. Like I always say, "Heavenly Father did a good job."

I love you!

Sister Berry

Working Até o Pó

Well Hi!

This week has been pretty exciting! It goes by so fast and so slow at the same time. I can't even remember what happened this week. Well, first it’s been a bit hotter this week. Perfect weather to sit in the shade and soak up the day. It’s just that as a missionary we walk in the sun so it’s been hot, but it’s been good. Really it’s just been that sticky kind of humid that you can feel in the air. So that was fun for my life.

 A great thing that happened this week was our interviews with President Silcox. It was just an opportunity for him to talk to us individually and get to know us. He told me something awesome that I really loved. He said as a Stake President he 'disobligated' (is that a word? Well it’s the word they use in Portuguese so it should make a little sense) almost 500 missionaries that completed their missions. And something that he told every one of them was that God never forgets the work that we do here. He will always remember and bless us for dedicating 18 months or 2 years of our lives to His work. That was something that I really needed to hear this week and remember.

Like the subject line says, we have been working and walking até o pó-- which means 'a whole lot' if I haven’t explained that before. It’s been hard to find people at home or people that are willing to listen to us. I have really needed diligence this week. I just want to be more like Jesus. I want to be kind, loving, hardworking, patient, and obedient. And day by day I have been getting better and better. Beth thank you so much for the letter with the picture of Jesus pondering. It has reminded me what I am here to do. I am here to help other people find happiness and joy in the true and restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I will work hard until the very end. :

Thanks for listening!

Until next week

Sister Berry

Soak It Up

Howdy all,

Well things are going fantastic here in Boa Vista :) I have finally been able to get to work this week! We have been walking 'até o pó', as they say here in Brazil. Its means a whole lot!! We've been walking and talking with everyone. We've been just trying to talk to everyone to tell them about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Oh, but first, my new companion! Her name is Sister Freitas da Silva (there was already a Freitas, Silva, da silva, and it’s just easier this way) and she's been out for 3 months! She is just adorable and I love her already! She's from João Pessoa which is in the northeastern part of Brasil. Another "Nordestina" as they say. Like I said, she is just great and we are having a good time together so far. She's also an only child, and turned 19 just before leaving on the mission. She is super nice to me, but tells me that I need to study Portuguese -___- So I’ve been trying to study a little more so I can be more confident with the language. We are going to do amazing things here!!

BTW Congrats to Jacob Wagher for leaving on his mission this next week! I know he is going to do amazing things in the Dominican Republic! Missions are great!!

What was AMAZING this week was my packages!! Thank you so much Ivan and Nichole!! And thank you Beth and Kelley and Family! The slippers are perfect and I’m wearing the shoes you sent right now. THANK YOU! And I loved the picture book and strawberry jam (thanks Ma). Oh my goodness you have no idea how happy that book made me. Thank you so much! I can’t even say it enough. I love you so much! Do you know how much I love you all? I don’t think so ;) Thanks for the love.

So I love being a missionary, but sometimes I forget. It’s really easy to forget when you get home at night dead tired and just want to sleep. So this week I’ve been trying to remember, to remind myself that I LOVE being a missionary here in Brazil. I love Brazil! It is so amazing all the things that I have been able to see and do here. And I want to make sure that I make the most of these 18 months. I want to make the most of every single day out here. So my goal for this next week is to soak up, cherish, and savor every day and every single moment. Maybe it sounds a little weird, but its what’s going to happen. I love my Heavenly Father, and I know He loves me. I know that I am here for a reason, and that I need to learn something here. I’m ready for the challenges! Bring it on!

So I guess I’m just here to remind you that you can do hard things. Let’s triumph together! It’s never easy, but in His strength we can do all things! Thank you so much for you love and support. Make sure to make the most of every day.

Some great quotes from "Grandma's Classroom Door"

Yesterday you said tomorrow.
Pray like it all depends on God, and then work like it all depends on you.

I love you all!!!

com amor, Sister Berry